This invention relates generally to ovens and more particularly to an oven for maintaining foods at temperatures suitable for serving or even for cooking food.
In one embodiment, this invention is especially (but not exclusively) directed to food service equipment that uses infrared (IR) heaters to maintain food at proper temperatures before serving, and even for cooking food. Such technology is often used in, for example, the fast food service industry to heat food. However, such equipment has certain disadvantages. For example, short holding times (e.g., one hour or less) and rapid product quality degradation often limit the effectiveness of this technology for holding applications. Additionally, different food products require different amounts of IR energy to be held in optimum condition. The quality of the food being held is affected in large part by the temperature and the air flow in the holding oven. As the food loses moisture due to evaporation, flavor is lost. This affects the texture and taste of the product. For example, chicken meat fibers will dry out and become tough, while the breading will become dry and greasy. French fries will develop a dry, rubbery texture as moisture is lost and the outer skin loses its crispness.
The frequency and duration of the heating cycles will normally depend upon the thermal mass of the food being cooked so as to provide relatively even temperature. Traditional IR holding devices cannot be adjusted to control the amount of IR energy delivered to the food and require a large amount of space since the IR heat source is in a fixed position relative to the food product.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,175,099, 6,262,394 and 6,541,739, assigned to Duke Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis, Mo. and incorporated herein by reference, are directed to a holding or cooking oven which is an improvement over prior designs and which has proven to be successful with various fried products. However, there is still a need for a technology that extends the holding time and quality of food products, especially fried products such as hash browns, French fries, rotisserie chicken, deep-fried chicken and shrimp.